Seattle’s classical music station will become listener-supported

Like to hear classical music on the radio? Pretty soon, you’ll be asked to pay for it.

KING FM, Seattle’s classical music station, announced Tuesday that it plans to become a listener-supported public radio station beginning in July 2011.

The station says it is not suffering financial hardship — yet. In 2010, it expects to generate $0 in dividends for its three owners — the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Opera and the Arts Fund. The station has provided nearly $7 million to its owner organizations since 1995.

From a press release:

KING FM, founded in 1948 by Dorothy Stimson Bullitt as part of KING Broadcasting, has used a commercial advertising-based model since its inception. However, changes in media technology, the rise in Internet-based music services, and the continued declines in advertising revenues facing all media companies, are transforming the way media companies such as KING do business. To ensure that KING FM continues to broadcast classical music and support local arts groups, KING FM’s board made the decision last week to switch business models.

The change will not result in any layoffs. In fact, the station says it plans to hire new staff to help build an outreach program and design a fund-raising campaign.

The goal, it said, is to make sure classical music has a home in Seattle.

“We found the listener-support model to be the most economically promising way to support a classical music radio station in this new era, as well as to provide the best source for continued funding for musicall-arts education in the Seattle community,” Christopher Bayley, president of Beethoven, the nonprofit board that oversees station operations.

Listener-supported station KUOW said it “welcomed” another nonprofit model in the Seattle market.

Though the station expects a temporary drop in revenue as it transitions to the new model, programming will not be affected by the move.